Slow Cooker Recipe: Whole Chicken & Vegetables

If there is one thing that I love when I want to prepare a no hassle meal, it is having a slow cooker. Many people I know just use their slow cooker for making queso or other dips for parties and never realize the full potential of what you can prepare with them. Slow cookers can cook just about anything from soups, stews and chilis to whole chickens, braised lamb and roast duck. More often than not, you are able to just throw in your ingredients and let your slow cooker do all the work. It’s definitely a way to impress your family and/or guests and let them think that you spent hours in the kitchen cooking, when really the only thing that was cooking for hours was your slow cooker.

My go-to meal in my slow cooker is chicken and vegetables. I use a whole chicken and whatever vegetables I have on hand at the time. It’s so simple and the chicken is so tender when it’s done it falls right off the bone.

1. Add a layer of vegetables to the bottom of the slow cooker.
2. Combine all spices.
3. Rinse the whole chicken and rub with spice mixture.
4. Place chicken in slow cooker on top of the layer of vegetables.
5. Add the remaining vegetables and garlic into the slow cooker.
6. Pour the broth into the slow cooker. As the chicken cooks it will add more liquid as well.
7. Cook on low setting for 5-8 hours.
8. Use a kitchen thermometer to check if chicken is done before serving. (The internal temperature should be 180 degrees in the thickest part.)